Fourth World Eye Blog » Artby – Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE
An Online Daily Journal of the Center for World Indigenous StudiesFri, 20 Feb 2015 16:03:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6Azawad: A Stateless Democracyhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2015/01/14/azawad-a-stateless-democracy/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2015/01/14/azawad-a-stateless-democracy/#commentsWed, 14 Jan 2015 21:56:45 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/?p=3554In To Make a World, Part II: The Art of Creating a State, Jonas Staal observes that in contrast to the mass-performance of the French, which was staged to reinforce France’s empire, “The Azawadian flag forms the ideological, visual, and performative texture of a stateless state.” Examining the conflict between the postcolonial state of Mali and the stateless state of Azawad, Staal notes that the new Scramble for Africa, in which the Europeans and Americans seek to secure fossil fuels and valuable minerals, “We are thus dealing with two fundamentally conflicting states performing themselves: the recognized state of Mali, embedded through the French, in the borderless empire of global capitalism; and the stateless state of Azawad, which enacts the memory of peoples that were never structured in terms of nation-states in the first place.”
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2015/01/14/azawad-a-stateless-democracy/feed/0Indigenous Nations of the Worldhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2011/11/17/indigenous-nations-of-the-world/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2011/11/17/indigenous-nations-of-the-world/#commentsThu, 17 Nov 2011 17:03:58 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/?p=2375In his article in Indian Country Today, Duane Champagne discusses the continuity and persistence of indigenous cultures and commitments to their own political forms. Recounting the evolution of nation states since the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, Champagne suggests the political complexity of the world, like diverse cultures and languages, should be embraced rather than discouraged. I expect the 350 million tribal people of the world would agree.
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2011/11/17/indigenous-nations-of-the-world/feed/5Official notice evidence of discrimination against Tibetans after protestshttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/10/12/official-notice-evidence-of-discrimination-against-tibetans-after-protests/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/10/12/official-notice-evidence-of-discrimination-against-tibetans-after-protests/#commentsSun, 12 Oct 2008 20:11:27 +0000Rudolph C. Rÿser, Ph.D.http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/10/12/official-notice-evidence-of-discrimination-against-tibetans-after-protests/

Official notice evidence of discrimination against Tibetans after protests International Campaign for Tibet October 8th, 2008 Following nearly six months of protests across the Tibetan plateau since March, there is increasing evidence of ethnic tension and discrimination of Tibetan and Chinese people, due at least in part to misinformation and propaganda by the Chinese authorities that has resulted in an upsurge of Chinese nationalism and hostility against Tibetans. An official notice obtained by ICT from one area of Beijing and translated into English below states that every hotel and public bathhouse is required to check on the ‘circumstances’ of all Tibetan and Uyghur visitors, and their presence should be reported to local police. This official acknowledgement that Tibetans and Uyghurs are under suspicion simply because of their ethnicity is supported by numerous anecdotal and eyewitness reports of new discrimination against Tibetans and a breakdown in communications among Chinese and Tibetan colleagues in different workplaces, including at government meetings.The Chinese authorities have consistently represented the uprising in Tibet as a ‘violent riot’. For weeks after March 14, state-run television showed selective footage of monks hurling rocks at police, protesters destroying shop fronts and plumes of black smoke from burned-out cars in Lhasa. TV newsreaders presented the official line that the violence was orchestrated by the “Dalai clique”. But in more than 125 protests across the Tibetan plateau since March 10, only the events of March 14 in Lhasa escalated to serious violence against Chinese civilians, according to ICT’s information, although there may be events that are not known yet. The majority of the protests have been non-violent.A visitor who has just returned from Lhasa told ICT: “Tibetans now find themselves under relentless suspicion and disregard. Even when Tibetans on official business – by invitation from Beijing or Chengdu hosts – do travel into mainland China, cabs will pass them by or order them out when their ethnicity is discovered by their language; or ‘vacant hotels’ suddenly have no rooms, one hotel after another.”One foreigner said that when they are with Tibetan friends in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, it is impossible to hail a taxi. On one occasion the foreigner asked an elderly Tibetan monk friend with them to stand back while hailing a taxi so the driver could not see them, but when the cab stopped and the monk stepped forward, the taxi sped away with the door hanging open. A foreigner in Beijing recently said that a bus emptied when a Tibetan monk got on board.A translation into English is provided below of an ‘urgent notice’ issued in Beijing prior to the Olympics outlining the security checks required on Tibetans and Uyghurs “staying on business premises”. The notice was seen by ICT sources in Haidian in Beijing in June or July. It is not known whether it appeared in other areas or not. Urgent Notice To all hostelries and public baths in the jurisdiction:According to the demands of the [Public Security Bureau] branch office, from now onwards hostelries and public baths under the jurisdiction of Haidian District [in central Beijing] should conduct checks on the circumstances of all Tibetans and Uyghurs staying on business premises. Efforts should be strengthened to verify the identification of all such people who check in, and at the same time [their presence] reported to the police station. Note, all hostelries and public bathhouses should carefully check and correctly record information on guests’ ethnicity. All hostelries receiving Tibetans and Uyghurs should immediately report to the police station.Contact person: Officer Wu Hu, cell: 13801093916 Huayuan Road Police Station direct lines: 62014692 and 6203 2656

]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/10/12/official-notice-evidence-of-discrimination-against-tibetans-after-protests/feed/0Preventing Elitismhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/09/09/preventing-elitism/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/09/09/preventing-elitism/#commentsTue, 09 Sep 2008 15:41:01 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/09/09/preventing-elitism/It is perfectly natural that elites — those with special gifts and achievements — will rise to prominence. When these gifted people exercise noblesse oblige, they should be celebrated and rewarded with appropriate leadership responsibilities. Elitism, however — that phenomenon whereby elites use their gifts and achievements to deprive others of a decent life — should accordingly be confronted with loss of privileges and honors.

Conspiracies between elitists to consolidate their power and position of malign rule certainly exist, but conspiracism (often indulged in by those deprived) — whereby all acts of violence are assumed to be controlled and manipulated by secret societies — serves to mobilize resentment against elitism into a fruitless pursuit of delusionary trivia. Preventing elitism through research, education, organizing and action is only effective when based on exposing real crimes using evidentiary methods and documents admissible in court, not when based on unfounded rumor, hearsay or group hysteria.

Gathering and analyzing such evidence requires exercising judgment and self-discipline, keeping an open mind and avoiding the temptation of demonizing. After all, elitism endures thanks in large part to a willingness to go along to get along; unfortunately, going along with elitism (or conspiracism) means that we will no longer be able to get along.

]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/09/09/preventing-elitism/feed/0Collective Punishmenthttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/21/collective-punishment/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/21/collective-punishment/#commentsMon, 21 Jan 2008 17:17:29 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/21/collective-punishment/I remember the shocking real-time film from the siege of Sarajevo, as well as the attendant world outrage that led to UN and NATO engagement with Serbia. Reading yesterday’s post by Palestinian Red Crescent physician Mona El-Farra about the siege of Gaza by the State of Israel, I couldn’t help comparing the senseless brutality of ethnic cleansing in the two countries. As Dr. El-Farra observes, the collective punishment of denying food, water, medicine, and electricity to 1.5 million civilians does not create an atmosphere for constructive negotiation.
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/21/collective-punishment/feed/0In Their Best Interestshttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/19/in-their-best-interests/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/19/in-their-best-interests/#commentsSat, 19 Jan 2008 20:23:30 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/19/in-their-best-interests/In Living the Brand, a new article from the International Journal of Communication, Melissa Aronczyk of NYU offers an account of the strategies involved in the production of culture through the particular phenomenon of nation branding.
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/19/in-their-best-interests/feed/0Human Shieldhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/15/human-shield/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/15/human-shield/#commentsTue, 15 Jan 2008 19:10:45 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/15/human-shield/Presently reading The Heart of the Sky, Peter Canby’s account of his travels among the Maya of Chiapas and Guatemala, I was disturbed this morning to read in the news of the stepped up violence by military and paramilitary forces in Chiapas against Zapatista communities and sympathizers. I wonder if an international human shield can be mobilized in time to prevent new massacres?
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/15/human-shield/feed/0From Humble Beginningshttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/09/from-humble-beginnings/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/09/from-humble-beginnings/#commentsWed, 09 Jan 2008 16:48:07 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/09/from-humble-beginnings/Wampum recounts how Israel began 61 years ago by bombing hotels—long before it advanced to bombing refugee camps and other civilian terrain.
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2008/01/09/from-humble-beginnings/feed/0Palestine Todayhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/30/palestine-today/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/30/palestine-today/#commentsMon, 31 Dec 2007 05:57:04 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/30/palestine-today/While we’re taking some time with family and friends, here are some unusual photos from daily life in Palestine.
]]>http://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/30/palestine-today/feed/0Sensibilitieshttp://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/22/sensibilities/
http://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/22/sensibilities/#commentsSun, 23 Dec 2007 05:08:24 +0000Jay Taberhttp://cwis.org/FWE/2007/12/22/sensibilities/As a writer, I often find the limitations of language too restrictive for my sensibilities. I found these Sebastiao Salgado photo essays on human migrations particularly engaging.
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